Mustela & you

Mustela's ingredients

Mustela has always chosen ingredients of natural origin, sourcing most of the key active ingredients from plants. Today, Mustela Bébé products contain 92% ingredients of natural origin on average. Find out where the plants used in Mustela’s main active ingredients come from and what their benefits are.

Avocado

Sunflower

Lupin

Shea

Aole vera

Avocado

SourceThe avocado pear tree (Persea Gratissima) is classified in the ‘Lauraceae’ flowering plant family and is a tree that grows to an average of around 10 m with dark green oval leaves. Its fruits – avocados – are pear-shaped. They can sometimes remain attached to the branch for several months without maturing. It is only once they are harvested that their flesh becomes more tender. Beneath its thick green skin is a large pit surrounded by a soft, fatty and fragrant pulp can be used in many dishes – both sweet and savoury.Avocados have been eaten for more than 10,000 years in Central America (where they originate) and are held sacred by the Mayan people and the Aztecs, seen as a symbol of life. They are extremely popular in Mesoamerican diets and were also recognized for their cosmetic and medicinal properties: they were used to moisturize and protect the skin, as well as nourishing hair, improving digestion and bringing fevers down.Avocados were first brought to Europe in the 16th century by the Spanish conquistadores, and were originally known as "American pears”. However, it was another 400 years before they would be used in France. They only started appearing on French menus in the 1960s and were not widely adopted until the 1980s. At the same time, scientists discovered that they had a plethora of benefits for skin. And they are now a key ingredient used in cosmetics.

BenefitsKnown for being an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, the avocado is of great benefit to fragile skin types. Our researchers have extracted several active ingredients from them, all of which have outstanding properties:

Avocado Perseose®: avocado perseose, a unifying active ingredient used in new Mustela Bébé formula, actively aids the development of the cutaneous barrier and preserves the wealth of cells in babies' skin, functioning as a protective shield. Avocado perseose is one of a new generation of biomimetic active ingredients: working in perfect harmony with skin, it combines targeted effectiveness and maximum tolerance.

Avocado sugars help sooth intolerant and easily irritated skin, working at three levels: they restructure skin, restoring its role as a barrier for protecting the body against external stresses (UV rays, wind, cold, pollution, etc.), they strengthen its cutaneous tolerance and help minimize the risk of infection. And in the process, they soothe the more fragile skin types – immediately and in the long-term.

Avocado peptides nourish the skin as well as soothing and reducing any itching sensation. Their properties are particularly beneficial for the skin of new and expectant mothers who have to deal with rapid stretching during pregnancy.

Avocado oil softens the skin, moisturizing it and protecting it against free radicals. Mustela has selected it for its sun protection properties in Mustela 9 Month Stretch Mark Oil and Mustela Bébé Massage Oil.

Avocado perseose®, Avocado sugars and Avocado peptides are all active ingredients that have been patented by Expanscience Laboratories.Enjoy all the benefits of avocado in Mustela’s products:

Sunflower

OriginSunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is an annual plant of the Asteraceae family. In French its name “Tournesol” signifies “turning with the sun” in reference to its astonishing habit of pivoting on its stem to follow the sun.Originating from North America the sunflower was harnessed by the North American Indians more than 4,000 years ago.The Indians already knew how to extract the oil from its seeds which they used in cooking but also for hair and skin care. Brought over by the Spanish conquistadors in the 15th century, the sunflower quickly established itself in the whole of Western Europe where it is now the source of one of the three main food oils (with olive and rapeseed).With its golden yellow colour, sunflower oil gives off a slight hazelnut-like smell and has an extremely mild and pleasant flavour. It is used a lot in cooking, but it also has many cosmetic properties thanks to its rich content of vitamin E and essential fatty acids with antioxidant, nourishing, firming and regenerating properties.

Beneficial effectsMustela’s Sunflower Oil Distillate is obtained by molecular distillation- a patented process of Laboratoires Expanscience- of a food quality sunflower oil. This extract is enriched in unsaponifiables, the noblest elements of oil.Established by the research teams of Laboratoires Expanscience, the beneficial effects of Sunflower Oil Distillate are remarkable.By stimulating the biosynthesis of epidermal lipids, it nourishes the skin and restores its barrier function against harmful external factors. Thanks to its emollient and anti-inflammatory properties, it quickly relieves feelings of irritation and restructures the very driest of skin. It is thus a privileged ingredient for products intended for atopy-prone skin.

Lupin

OriginThe lupin is a very decorative herbaceous perennial plant of the Asteraceae family. From the end of spring to the middle of summer, superb white or bluish flowered spikes rise from its characteristic palmately leaves. They are followed by long pods which enclose flat seeds or beans, very rich in protein and fatty matter.Naturally present in the Mediterranean basin, the lupin is now cultivated throughout the whole of Europe as well as in Africa, the United States and especially in Australia, the leading worldwide producer. It has been used for more than 4,000 years as forage for animals but also as “green fertilizer” because of its capacity to improve the soil where it grows.Since the 19th century it has also been used as an ornamental plant and for human food: its seeds are consumed in the form of flour or eaten whole prepared in brine.Its medicinal and cosmetic properties have only been discovered recently but are now well-established by scientific studies.

Beneficial effectsMustela uses the white lupin (Lupinus albus) cultivated in the western region of France. The seeds are gathered at the beginning of autumn, when they are ripe and bursting with lipids. Their outer shells (or teguments) are thus recuperated in order to extract lupeol, very rich in this part of the seed.Mustela has chosen lupeol for the Mustela 9 Months range: effectively, this active ingredient has particularly interesting properties for skin care during pregnancy and after childbirth.By “de-stressing” the skin fibres it helps the skin become better prepared for stretching due to pregnancy and it helps prevent the appearance of stretch marks.It promotes the production of good quality collagen, thus improving the skin’s elasticity and suppleness.Last but not least, thanks to its restructuring properties it helps to restore firmness to the tissues after childbirth.

Lupeol is a patented active ingredient of Laboratoires Expanscience.

You will find all the virtues of lupeol in Mustela skin care products:

Shea

OriginA sacred tree of the West African savannah whose name means “life”, the African Karite tree (Butyrospermum Parkii) cannot be cultivated: it only grows in its wild state. Reaching a height of 15 to 20 metres, it can live for up to three centuries but it takes fifty years to fully flourish.Its ovoid fruits resemble large dark-green coloured nuts. They mature during the tornado period (from June to September) and fall spontaneously to the ground where they are gathered. In their centre they contain an almond bursting with fatty substances and vitamins.Once rid of their shell and pulp, these almonds are pressed and heated for extracting a smooth and creamy butter. From Senegal up to the Nile, the extraordinary repair properties of this natural moisturiser have been known for thousands of years. African mothers traditionally used it to prevent their babies’ skin from becoming irritated.

Beneficial effectsThe remarkable properties of Shea Butter have now been fully recognised by science and Mustela restores all the beneficial effects for you in its skin care products.Naturally rich in essential fatty acids, vitamin E and vitamin F, Shea Butter intensely nourishes the skin and restores its elasticity. It protects the skin and helps to defend it against harsh climatic conditions such as wind and cold. Even the driest and most sensitive of skin is repaired, soothed and softened.

Aloe vera

OriginOriginally from North Africa, Aloe Vera has adapted itself to many regions across the planet: this resistant and vigorous perennial grows anywhere where the climate is hot and dry. Nowadays it is widely cultivated in Spain, Mexico and southern USA.It is a tall plant that forms a rosette of thick bluish-green leaves with a spiny margin, at the centre of which rises a spectacular spike of yellow flowers. The stems of Aloe Vera reach a metre in height and are mature after five years. One can thus begin to remove the leaves for extracting the gelatinous pulp used as much in pharmaceuticals as in cosmetics.The many beneficial effects of Aloe Vera have been well-known for thousands of years: in Antiquity its gel was already used for healing and soothing the skin and in treating burns and skin infections. Since then, all these properties have been scientifically proven.

Beneficial effectsAmong the many varieties of Aloe, Mustela has selected Aloe Vera Barbadensis Miller from Mexico with its most remarkable cosmetic qualities. Its thick and translucent gel is extracted from fresh leaves and then freeze-dried to obtain a pure and natural powder which preserves all the active components of the plant. This Aloe Vera concentrate is exceptionally rich in vitamins, minerals and amino acids.Used in Mustela skin care products, Aloe Vera offers all its beneficial effects to your baby’s skin. It relieves irritation and repairs damaged skin by stimulating cell regeneration. Intensely moisturising, it restores elasticity to the skin while softening it and coating it in a protective, non-greasy film. These qualities make it an incomparable ingredient for sun care products.